"They also live / Who swerve and vanish in the river."--Archibald MacLeish

Friday, January 25, 2008

Jane Austen's Ghost World

Yesterday I did an exercise with my students in which we rewrote a scene from Ghost World (graphic novel or movie) in the style of Jane Austen. The "write in the style of Austen" exercise is not a new one, neither to me nor to teachers around the world, but I think the Ghost World component is unique. It's the second time I've done this and it was, again, a blast. It reminded me once again that constraints make for great art. Of course you immediately realize you have to break down the dialog of Enid Coleslaw and her snide pal into polite or seemingly polite ripostes, adding adjectives and adverbs. What you then see is that the irony in Austen's characters' speech, while equally edgy, is sort of an outside-in version of Ghost World's. (I haven't quite figured out how they mirror each other.) Also Ghost World is, in fact, a social "novel" that explores the niceties (or lack thereof) of relationships.

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About Me

I'm a writer, editor, and recovering academic. My first novel, Bigfoot and the Baby, was published by Bona Fide Books in June 2014. You can also read my work in Alaska Quarterly Review, Crazyhorse, Flavorwire, Slush Pile, The Millions, The Rumpus.net, Tin House, and elsewhere. Represented by Cynthia Zigmund.

Borrowed Fire

Borrowed Fire is a (now intermittent) series in which I read classic works of literature and try to point out what contemporary writers can learn from their craft. All BF texts are posted on Project Gutenberg--so you can follow along, even if you haven't read the book!